[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Pages 24196-24198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO BRENDAN O'CONNOR

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, as we continue to debate national 
strategy and the way ahead in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is one thing 
that is not debatable, and that is the courage and valor of our troops. 
Today, I wish to honor one of those brave troops, MSgt Brendan 
O'Connor, a medic in the Special Forces of the U.S. Army.
  Master Sergeant O'Connor distinguished himself by extraordinary 
heroism in action during a fierce battle in Kandahar Province, 
Afghanistan, when his small detachment engaged an estimated 200 Taliban 
fighters on June 24, 2006. For his heroism, Master Sergeant O'Connor, 
who held the rank of sergeant first class at the time of the battle, 
was honored with the Nation's second highest award for valor, the 
Distinguished Service Cross.
  After awarding the Distinguished Service Cross to Brendan, ADM Eric 
Olson, the head of U.S. Special Operations Command, hailed the 
contributions of the Army's Special Forces and said, ``Master Sergeant 
Brendan O'Connor exemplifies the spirit of these warriors.''
  Leading a quick reaction force during a mission against Taliban 
leaders, Master Sergeant O'Connor and his team found themselves 
outnumbered and surrounded by hundreds of Taliban fighters in one of 
the most hotly contested areas of Afghanistan. After calmly maneuvering 
his force through enemy Taliban positions, Master Sergeant O'Connor 
crawled over 150 yards alone through enemy machine-gun fire across an 
open field to rescue two wounded comrades. Rallying and motivating his 
severely outnumbered team throughout a day-long battle, he saved the 
lives of 21 soldiers and prevented his detachment's destruction while 
inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy.
  The heroism of Brendan O'Connor and his team in Afghanistan received 
national media attention on the CBS News program ``60 Minutes,'' which 
aired a segment on April 20 of this year, ``Ambush in Afghanistan.''
  Brendan O'Connor comes from a long and distinguished family history 
of

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military service to our Nation, with deep roots in the U.S. Army and at 
West Point. Brendan's father, LTC Mortimer O'Connor, who graduated from 
West Point in 1953, was killed in action in Vietnam in 1968 while 
leading men into battle as commander of the 1st Battalion, 2nd 
Infantry, in the famed ``Big Red One,'' the oldest continuously serving 
division in the U.S. Army.
  A true ``warrior-poet'', Mort O'Connor was not only decorated several 
times for valor on the battlefield, but taught English at West Point 
and earned a graduate degree in English literature from the University 
of Pennsylvania. A remembrance of Mort O'Connor in a March 1978 West 
Point Alumni publication recalled his spirit on the athletic fields as 
a young cadet:

       When victorious he would exultantly claim to be descended 
     from ancient Irish warrior kings. And it may be true, for he 
     had in him a wild romanticism, a tragic lilt of heart, which 
     only the Irish have.

  Brendan O'Connor's grandfather, and Mort O'Connor's father, was BG 
William ``Bill'' O'Connor, a graduate of West Point in 1924. Bill 
O'Connor served in Europe in World War II, including in the Battle of 
the Bulge.
  And three of Brendan's great-uncles followed their brother Bill to 
West Point--Richard O'Connor in the Class of 1926, George Brendan 
O'Connor in the Class of 1936, and Roderic O'Connor in the Class of 
1941.
  Today, the O'Connor family tradition of military service continues 
with the next generation. Attending his Distinguished Service Cross 
award ceremony on April 30th were two of Brendan's cousins, Brian 
O'Connor, who is now at the Air Force Academy, and Rory O'Connor, who 
is now at West Point.
  We are grateful to families such as the O'Connors, who for 
generations have answered the Nation's call and worn the uniform with 
such courage and distinction. There is no finer example of this 
tradition than MSgt Brendan O'Connor and his heroic action in 
Afghanistan. I ask unanimous consent to have the full text of his 
Distinguished Service Cross citation, as well as the narrative that 
accompanies the award, printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

 Citation to Accompany the Award of the Distinguished Service Cross to 
                Sergeant First Class Brendan W. O'Connor

       For extraordinary heroism in combat as the senior Medical 
     Sergeant for Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha-765 
     in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Panjwai District, 
     Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. On 24 June 2006, during 
     Operation Kaika, Sergeant O'Connor led a quick reaction force 
     to reinforce a surrounded patrol and to rescue two wounded 
     comrades. He maneuvered his force through Taliban positions 
     and crawled alone, under enemy machinegun fire to reach the 
     wounded soldiers. He provided medical care, while exposed to 
     heavy volumes of Taliban fire, then carried one of the 
     wounded 150 meters across open ground to an area of temporary 
     cover. He climbed over a wall three times, in plain view of 
     the enemy, to assist the wounded soldiers to cover while 
     bullets pounded the structure around him. Sergeant O'Connor 
     assumed duties as the detachment operations Sergeant and led 
     the consolidation of three friendly elements, each 
     surrounded, isolated, and receiving fire from all directions. 
     His remarkable actions are in keeping with the highest 
     traditions of military heroism and reflect distinct credit 
     upon himself, the Combined Special Operations Task Force-
     Afghanistan, Special Operations Command-Central, and the 
     United States Army.

Narrative to Accompany the Award of the Distinguished Service Cross to 
                Sergeant First Class Brendan W. O'Connor

       Sergeant First Class Brendan W. O'Connor, United States 
     Army, distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in 
     action as the Senior Medical Sergeant for Special Forces 
     Operational Detachment Alpha-765 in support of Operation 
     ENDURING FREEDOM. On 24 June 2006, while conducting Operation 
     KAIKA, a cordon and search mission to capture or kill Taliban 
     leadership in Pashmul, Panjwai District, Kandahar Province, 
     Afghanistan, the detachment became engaged with an estimated 
     200 Taliban fighters. MSG Thomas Maholic led a patrol from 
     the detachment's perimeter to secure a compound situated on 
     key terrain. As the assault began, a large Taliban force 
     counterattacked, flooded the battlefield, and immediately 
     separated the assault element from SSG Matthew Binney's 
     support by fire position, creating two distinct detachment 
     elements outside the perimeter, each isolated, surrounded, 
     and receiving enemy fire from all directions. SSG Binney and 
     SGT Joseph Feurst were seriously wounded at the support by 
     fire position. SFC O'Connor volunteered to lead a quick 
     reaction force to reinforce MSG Maholic in the compound, and 
     recover the two wounded soldiers. SFC O'Connor departed the 
     detachment's perimeter under heavy enemy fire, with SFC 
     Mishra, eight Afghan soldiers and an interpreter. By 
     employing fire and maneuver, SFC O'Connor destroyed an enemy 
     machinegun position, broke out from the encircled patrol 
     base, and evaded enemy fighters that were now swarming toward 
     the compound. After link-up with MSG Maholic, SFC O'Connor 
     was directed toward the support-by-fire position. He led his 
     small relief force along a wall that provided cover from the 
     heavy volume of machinegun and rocket-propelled grenade fire, 
     as they evaded attackers and broke out from the encircled 
     compound. At the end of the wall, he encountered an open 
     field, 80 meters across to a small building, which was the 
     next available covered position. The flat field was covered 
     by enemy grazing fire from three directions. He established a 
     support-by-fire position to suppress enemy machinegun fire 
     and began to crawl, alone, across the field, leaving a third 
     isolated element amid the chaos of the battlefield. Afghan 
     soldiers attempted to follow him but turned back under the 
     extraordinary volume of fire. As bullets impacted all around 
     him and cut the grass directly over his body, he quickly 
     realized that his cumbersome load was creating too large a 
     target for the enemy. He returned to the cover of the wall 
     and removed his body armor and assault pack. Informed that 
     Apache gunships were en route to strafe the area he was 
     attempting to crawl through, SFC O'Connor attached an orange 
     panel to his back in order to mark himself as a friendly 
     element to the pilots. Without hesitation he immediately 
     resumed crawling the 80 meters across the field, in plain 
     sight of the enemy, toward his two wounded comrades. He moved 
     slowly, just inches below the enemy fire, miraculously 
     escaping injury from hundreds of Taliban machinegun rounds. 
     He jumped over a wall into a vineyard and moved forward along 
     mounds of dirt, with bullets impacting all around him each 
     time he exposed himself. He continued moving alone, for 150 
     meters, yelling for SSG Binney. Once again, he evaded enemy 
     fighters that were as near as 3 meters, and were firing over 
     a wall and shouting insults and threats at the surrounded 
     position, and made contact with his wounded teammates. SFC 
     O'Connor fought with his personal weapon, performed life-
     saving measures on the two wounded soldiers in the open, 
     exposed to enemy fire, shielding the casualties from debris 
     and shrapnel with his own body, and gave instructions to 
     begin the evacuation. As an Afghan soldier assisted SSG 
     Binney, SFC O'Connor picked up SGT Feurst and began carrying 
     him, unassisted, back to the cover of the small building 150 
     meters away. He dodged rocket-propelled grenade and 
     machinegun fire, while methodically maneuvering from one 
     covered position to another, without the benefit of his 
     protective body armor, carrying the unconscious SGT Feurst. 
     He climbed over a two meter high wall, into the building, as 
     bullets pounded the wall all around him. The frightened 
     Afghan soldiers were unable to assist in lifting SGT Feurst 
     over the wall, which required SFC O'Connor to climb back over 
     the wall in the face of heavy, accurate, enemy fire. He 
     lifted and pushed SGT Feurst over the wall, assisted SSG 
     Binney over by offering his own body as step, and climbed 
     over a third time himself, while a storm of bullets began 
     disintegrating the structure around him. As Apache gunships 
     suppressed the enemy, SFC O'Connor led the group from the 
     surrounded building, while still under fire, back toward the 
     quick reaction force. He then led his entire force back 
     toward MSG Maholic's compound. He engaged enemy fighters and 
     broke through to link up with the last of the isolated 
     elements. Inside the compound, he learned that MSG Maholic 
     had been killed. SFC O'Connor assumed duties as Detachment 
     Operations Sergeant and continued coordinating the defense of 
     the compound against renewed Taliban attacks. He supervised 
     all medical treatment of the casualties, coordinated the 
     medical evacuation flight and organized the movement of 
     ammunition from the resupply aircraft. After nightfall, under 
     SFC O'Connor's leadership, the group broke out once again 
     from their isolated location and moved undetected through 
     Taliban positions to reunite all friendly elements at the 
     detachment's patrol base. SFC O'Connor's extraordinary 
     actions, performed at tremendous risk of life, successfully 
     rescued two wounded comrades, saved the lives of 21 soldiers, 
     and prevented his detachment's destruction. He consolidated 
     four friendly elements, each isolated and surrounded by an 
     aggressive, numerically superior, and well armed enemy force 
     during the confusion of combat, and brought all soldiers to 
     safety. The heroic accomplishments of Sergeant First Class 
     Brendan W. O'Connor reflect great credit upon himself, the 
     Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan, 
     Special Operations Command-Central, and the United States 
     Army.

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